Revisiting a UFO

I finished my Fatty SAL on Saturday night. I've decided to revisit my Pollyanna Pickering Pandas for now. I know I had all these grand and glorious plans for the fair this year, but, for some reason, I have kinda put those aside. I have two things to enter--our ring pillow and my ornament--but I don't know how many other projects I'll have and, to be honest, I'm OK with that. I'm kind of enjoying this no-pressure stitching pattern I've fallen into, and I don't want to make things any more difficult than I need to. Maybe next year, I'll be settled enough to make a big showing.

I'm enjoying working on the Panda picture. Here is the way they looked the last time I took a picture, last summer:

http://whatlookslikecrazyonanordinaryday.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-off.html

I'd like to have them finished by the end of June. My co-worker, who I worked with at my prior company, came up yesterday when I was stitching yesterday at lunch, and asked, "Weren't you working on that last summer? I remember that." I had to admit it had been tucked away because of how tricky the stitching is. I'm hoping, though, that working on it in blocks of 10x10 squares will make it a bit easier to get it finished. But even this is not easy because the grass that they are rolling on is DMC Variations and so I'm trying to keep the shading in place.

I will try to post a photo tonight of my progress.

I don't know if anyone has noted this, but there is a new book for the Halloween fans coming out soon. Here is a preview picture:

http://www3.mailordercentral.com/hoffmanmedia/prodinfo.asp?number=JCS-HALLOWEEN-11

These are all new charts. If the rest of the charts are as good as the ones on the cover, this is going to be a must-have. Needlework shops are supposed to carry it, but I'm pre-ordering, because I want it. Badly!